


Primary Colors

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [30]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day Three - Adversaries, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 04:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6550990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: We're on opposite campaigns in the Primary, but we have to work together again for the General, all while ignoring our steamy past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Primary Colors

"The party needs you on the Mikaelson campaign, Caroline."

She fiddled with her watch, the only nervous habit she hadn't been able to viciously tamp down over the course of her career. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Alaric," she said, reluctant to even consider what would surely be a lucrative opportunity. "He already has a team, one that beat me in a very good primary."

Alaric Saltzman, the real brains behind the national committee, pinned her with an unimpressed stare. "You also got your start on that team, and they need you for communications. You were able to garner a good chunk of the youth vote, despite your more traditional candidate, and that kind of skill set will help put Elijah Mikaelson in the White House."

Huffing in frustration, Caroline stood abruptly. "I don't want to work with them," she stated, adamant. "Put me anywhere else, and I'll do my best."

"You should be chomping at the bit for this job, especially coming off a loss," he pointed out. "The general election means all hands on deck, and you're the best of the best. Chin up and do your job for the party."

It was a terrible idea, she knew. Caroline had nothing against Elijah; he would be a great president.

Working with Klaus, however, was a recipe for disaster.

Their history went back to Elijah's first ever campaign for Virginia's House of Delegates.

* * *

_"Is this seat taken?"_

_Startled from the pamphlet she was reading, Caroline looked up. Sandy curls and deep dimples stunned her for a moment until she realized the cute guy was waiting for an answer. "No, sorry," she stammered quickly. "It's free."_

_He sat down, picking up the identical pamphlet sitting on his chair. "I'm Klaus," he greeted with a nod._

_"Caroline," she replied, biting her lip. "How'd you get roped into helping on the campaign?"_

_Klaus shrugged, looking around the small community center. "My brother's the candidate," he said, tapping the sleek picture on the glossy pamphlet. "Since I'm in college, I have more time than our younger siblings to devote to his run. You?"_

_"I'm a friend of Kat's," she answered, jutting her chin toward the brunette bossily manning the sign-in clipboard. "She told me she worked too hard to get Elijah to take her seriously not to be the perfect politician's wife. Apparently, that means threatening all of her friends with bodily harm if we don't help him win."_

_"Sounds about right," Klaus said, smirking. He was still getting to know Katherine Pierce, but nothing her blonde friend said surprised him. "So, where are the rest of her friends? I can't imagine you're here alone."_

_Caroline rolled her eyes, ignoring how pleased she felt at the flirt. It had been months since Tyler broke up with her, and she was long overdue for a rebound from her high school sweetheart. "I'm the only Political Science student, so I could at least manage to get credit for any time I log on the campaign," she said._

_"Are you at Whitmore?"_

_"Yep," she answered brightly. "I'm only a sophomore, but I'm hoping my hours here can land me some good internships later on."_

_"Senior, art history," Klaus added. "And I'm sure you could land any internship you wanted, love. You certainly seem like a go-getter."_

_"If that means go get you coffee," she said with an arched eyebrow, "then we're going to have a problem."_

_He raised his hands defensively, chuckling. "I meant no offense, sweetheart, honestly."_

_"Sure," she scoffed, focusing on the pamphlet rather than his dimples._

_"How can I acquit myself," he asked teasingly. "Dinner, perhaps?"_

_Kat clapped her hands for everyone's attention, but Caroline preferred to put the pretty boy in his place._

_Their bickering never seemed to end, even as Kat explained the volunteer process and how the campaign would be organized. Over months of door-knocking and sign distribution, surveys and press events, Klaus and Caroline seemed to work seamlessly despite their playful antagonism._

_While the outgoing and optimistic nature of campaigning came naturally to Caroline, Klaus found himself thrilled by the inherent competition. He gravitated toward Kat's duties as campaign manager while Caroline smoothly handled external relations as a liaison for the candidate. They were often the first two in the campaign office in the morning, if they had bothered to leave at all for how late they would work into the night._

_Despite all their efforts, they never did make it to Elijah's victory party in November. They were too busy celebrating a victory of their own when Caroline finally took Klaus up on that dinner date._

* * *

Alaric had made it clear she didn't have a choice. The party would technically be the one hiring her, and they wanted her on Elijah's campaign, reporting directly to the candidate and the manager. Reluctantly, Caroline pulled out her phone to dial the friendliest name on the team that might accept her call.

"What do you want?"

Wincing, Caroline sighed. At least she answered. "Hey, Kat."

"You have some nerve, you know that," her former friend snapped. "We're still enjoying our victory, so I don't really have time to hold your hand through your first loss."

Caroline straightened her spine, steeling herself for the news she had to deliver. "Too bad, Kat," she replied stonily. "You have a new communications director, I'll be at your headquarters tomorrow. If you have a problem with it, talk to Alaric and the committee."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"I wish I were," Caroline admitted, deflating. "You'll tell the others?"

"If you think that will keep Klaus from storming out tomorrow, you're insane," Kat pointed out.

"It's not like I chose the assignment," Caroline defended.

Kat snorted. "Not this time."

* * *

_It was a fight, a stupid fight. Caroline wanted to keep her apartment, despite spending most of her time with Klaus at his._

_"We work together, we see each other all the time, and I need a place that's just mine," she insisted._

_"We've been together for years, Caroline," Klaus yelled, and she took notice at the use of her given name. He only used it to get her attention. "Moving in together is a logical step."_

_"Logical," Caroline cried out helplessly, her emotions breaking through full force. "Not romantic, not out of your utter desire to spend the rest of your life with me. The whole of your life," she said. "It just makes sense."_

_Klaus staggered back. "Is that really what you think?"_

_"It's true," she muttered, wiping tears from underneath her eyes. "You always talk about how stupid Elijah was to get married so young, or even at all. It's tying yourself to another person, a limit you'd never want for yourself."_

_"Love," he sighed, reaching out._

_She backed away, though. The damage was done, and her heart was too broken to keep going with the full knowledge that Klaus would never fully commit to her the way she wanted._

_"I took the communications job with the national committee," she finally admitted. "I'll still be in D.C., but I can't work for Elijah anymore." I can't work for you anymore._

_Once Kat officially became a Mikaelson, Klaus had taken the mantle of campaign manager. Since Elijah and the team had worked him up the U.S. Senate, more responsibilities than ever had fallen on Klaus's shoulders, and now he was losing his Girl Friday and girlfriend in one fell swoop._

_There was nothing he could say to make her stay, but she still expected something more than the cold statue standing in her way. After a long minute, she swallowed back her tears and walked around him to the door._

_His fists clenched as it slammed behind her._

* * *

She wasn't sure how he would take the news, but Klaus always managed to surprise her.

"Welcome to the team, Caroline," he greeted cordially, leading her to an office in the back of headquarters. "Strategy meeting is at eleven, and your deputy Josh will be able to get you up to speed. I look forward to hearing your ideas for revamped messaging."

Klaus was calm, cool and collected - everything she had never known him to be. Their relationship had been all passion, whether that was loving or arguing.

Even the strategy meeting should have been a fiery meeting of the minds, but Klaus just blithely accepted her recommendations. "You know what you're doing, Caroline, you always have."

She couldn't even decide whether or not that was a dig, he was that passive.

Caroline gave it another two hours before she burst into his office. "What gives, Mikaelson?"

Arching a brow, Klaus didn't bother to look up from his computer. "Was there something ambiguous about the assignment," he asked, referring to the survey she was supposed to be designing objectives and desired results for.

"If this is how it's going to be," Caroline said, arms crossed, "then I'll tell Alaric to shove it. I'll take whatever obscene salary that comes with the latest Fortune 500 job offer I've gotten and get out of politics altogether."

Klaus finally met her eyes at that. A flash of anger crossed his face before settling in a stony expression. "Would you prefer I yell at you, walk around like the tyrant you've often accused me of being?"

"I can handle you hating me," she said honestly. "But seeing you tolerate me like an ingrown toenail you didn't ask for? That's not fair."

"You're the one who left, Caroline," he said, standing.

She tried not to wince at his use of her name. "You're the one who didn't want me to stay," she answered.

"Okay," Kat broke in from the doorway, surprising both of them with her silent arrival. "Elijah's meeting us at the steakhouse," she said, talking about their favorite haunt when they first got to D.C. for Elijah's first term. "The four of us are going to hash this out so we can work together and win the general."

And they did. It took three bottles of wine and a lot of compromise, but Klaus and Caroline agreed to find a happy medium for the office. Caroline needed to feel like part of the team, accepted and respected. Klaus needed to be comfortable challenging her ideas without the fear of her running away.

She had done it before, and Klaus wouldn't be able to take it again. It was bad enough she didn't take the olive branch he had offered her before the primary.

* * *

_Caroline looked ashen as she processed the offer._

_"I thought Elijah was happy in the Senate," she said weakly, sipping her wine. This hadn't been the discussion she thought Klaus wanted to have when he called her out of the blue to take her to lunch. "I had no idea he wanted the presidency."_

_With an unusual burst of optimism, Klaus felt good enough to joke with her. Perhaps it was finally seeing her in person after so long; it had been about a year since their breakup. He had missed her, and he couldn't lie and say the thought of working with her again didn't appeal to him. "I'm sure Kat just wants to be First Lady," he teased. His stomach grew uneasy when she didn't laugh. "Sweetheart?"_

_Shocked, Caroline snapped her focus back to him. "I'm so sorry," she answered, broken. "Had I known-"_

_Klaus stood, not wanting to be rejected by her yet again. "It was a long shot anyway, Caroline," he said coldly, dropping some bills on the table to cover their meal._

_"No, Klaus," she called, but he was already gone._

_She had just signed a contract to work on Carol Lockwood's opposing campaign that morning. He was just too late._

* * *

"And with these states decided, we are confident in reporting Elijah Mikaelson as our next president."

As cheers filled the hotel suite, Kat and Elijah began to dance while the rest of their team celebrated around them. Klaus looked around for a familiar head of blonde curls, but he didn't see her in the main room. He trekked through the suite, only to finally find her in the bedroom. She was looking out the window, the familiar Richmond skyline glowing.

"Congratulations, love," he said softly, smiling at her little jump of surprise. "You're going to be Press Secretary."

She turned to face him, unexpected tears welling in her eyes. Her arms were crossed, but not in the annoyance he had grown used to again. She looked more like she was holding herself together. "Are you sure you're going to want me around that long," she asked, vulnerable.

Klaus sighed. Months of working together had only reinforced the fact he had never fallen out of love with her, and she still thought it would be so easy for him to cast her out of his life. "I know you don't believe me, but I have always wanted you around," he answered. "I never want you to leave again, I never wanted you to leave in the first place."

"Klaus-"

"Sweetheart," he pleaded, reaching for her hand. "I want to spend my life fighting with you, I've never wanted anything more. I understand if you need more time, if you need me to prove-"

She surged forward, kissing him like she was coming home before he could finish. They could hear the pops of champagne bottles outside, but nothing mattered outside their embrace.

"Hey, lovebirds," Kat called, snapping her fingers to get their attention. "As much as I'd love to yell 'hallelujah,' we've got an acceptance speech to polish before my husband goes on national television. Can you bang it out later?"

Rolling her eyes, Caroline burst out in elated laughter. Klaus wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as her body shook happily. "We'll be right out," he said to his sister-in-law, who would never let up on teasing him for his dopey smile that night.

She took great joy in sharing that story during her wedding toast the next year.


End file.
